A 19-year-old level 200 law student at the University of Ghana, Legon, Nana Obeng Owusu Junior died shortly after he was rushed to the Ewim Polyclinic in Cape Coast.
The deceased, according to his mother, Mrs. Nelly Mills, who was an asthmatic patient, was rushed to the Polyclinic, for an emergency first aid when he had an attack – breathing difficulties -.
She told GhanaWeb’s Central Regional Correspondent, that her son needed only an emergent nebulizer to control the attack at about 08:00 hours on Monday, October 9, 2023.
Mrs Mills added that, on arrival, the nurse on duty prescribed a medicine for them to purchase at the polyclinic’s pharmacy.
"We went to the hospital around 08:00 hours and the nurse who was on duty that night, wrote a medicine on a sheet for me to purchase which I left Junior and his brother sitting and cracking jokes,” she told GhanaWeb.
However, after returning from the pharmacy, she saw her son's lifeless body and was told by the nurse on duty that an injection was given to him.
“Less than two minutes after buying the medicine, I saw my son lying down lifeless and the nurse confirmed he injected him. We came in for a nebulizer and not an injection which you wrote for me to go for so why did you inject him. I shouted and screamed at my boy's lifeless body but there was no response,” she added.
Family suspects foul play
Mrs Mills told GhanaWeb that within 20 minutes after the death of her son, the hospital called for an ambulance to send the body to the UCC morgue without the consent of any family member.
She alleged that polyclinic's authority embalmed her son’s body without the family’s consent, adding that the update makes it difficult for the family to conduct an autopsy.
“I even asked them to release the body for me but the hospital refused. We went to the morgue right after only to find out my son was embalmed, meaning it would be very difficult for even autopsy to prove the particular substance which killed my son.”
The unfortunate incident has left the family in disbelief calling for urgent actions to be taken against the hospital.
Hospital’s reaction
Management of the hospital declined to speak to GhanaWeb’s correspondent after several attempts.
Management stated that the Police and BNI have taken the case up and are conducting their investigations into the issue.
Police Reaction
The Cape Coast Police also refused to comment on the case when the reporter contacted their office for comments.
The late Nana Obeng Owusu Junior